Keli Roberts: Step it Strong

This workout will improve your posture and strengthen your neck and spine. Workout includes an energizing prewarm-up, a standing warm-up, muscle firming, and lengthening mat work, a 6-minute deep abdominal workout that tightens the abdominals while it strengthens the back, and a restorative section with relaxation.

Don't listen to the "too difficult" reviews!!

Poor instructions and difficult moves seem to be the theme of the bad reviews here, but this workout is not made for the person who wants to "master" it on your first attempt. This workout will last you through many different fitness levels. Personally, I get very bored with the DVD's that "walk" you slowly through every move at baby-step momentum, because 2 months down the road, the workout is way too easy and too slow. Not so with this one!

This DVD is definitely tough, and it did take me a few times through it to learn the step routines (so what?), but I have had great results using it (and that's why we do it, right?). The step portions are difficult, and even after using this DVD for 3 straight months, they still leave me winded. The sculpting portions are tough as well, lots of squats & lunges. Great for shaping your legs.

I especially like that this is interval-training. It breaks the workout into segments of step and weight training, with a sculpting, abs, and back portion at the end. I have had better results with interval training than with any other type of workout, and I've tried them ALL!!

Any DVD that can help me take off 20 lbs of baby weight in 3 months is worth your money!! The routines are not difficult once you learn them, and the results are worth it.

August 13, 2008

Dancer I am not..

I was hopeful that based on other reviews I could enjoy this workout, however not so much. There is no queing of the next steps and it moves very fast even for myself who has been stepping for a while. I was disappointed. April 9, 2008

Great for experienced steppers!

As someone who has done step aerobics on and off for 15 years, this was a very solid, well thought out program. As in all of Keli's "classes", the instructions aren't oversimplified or repeated several times, nor does she spend much time going over the moves slowly. As this may frustrate beginners, you have to appreciate that after you've done the routine 20 times and know it better than she does, you are not bored by the repetition or slow intros. I reccommend doing the routine at first with your remote in hand, ready to put it into slow motion to get particular moves down, then back up and start that segment again to get your full workout!
Just when you think you are too tired from cardio, she puts you into strengthening. And if you want only cardio or only strengh training, you can set the menu up that way.
You cannot go wrong with any of her step routines. They're fun and she and her crew, while smiling, aren't too cutesy. January 11, 2008

Good Overall Workout

I bought this DVD specifically because it included stepping, but I was a little disappointed. Keli's routines are easier than Cathe Freidrich's, Christi Taylor's and Rob Glick's, but her choreography offers its own unique challenges. Keli uses unique step moves (like a triple knee where you jump to switch knees in the middle) without detailed explanation and I had to immediately modify to avoid injury. I'll admit I'm a klutz, but I'm a klutz who's fairly adept at stepping.

The good news about the step routines is that they're brief and there are only four or five of them in the 77 minute workout. But I guess that's my other complaint. The title of the DVD was a little misleading given that the majority of the workout is strength training.

However, I'll stop my complaining here. What Keli lacks as a step instructor (poor cuing, unique moves) she makes up for as a strength training instructor. In those sections she absolutely shines because she offers very thorough instruction and safety tips.

Fortunately, the DVD is programmable and one option is to play all the strength sections without the stepping. So buy a Gin Miller step workout and combine it with Keli's strength training if you want an excellent overall workout. On its own, this DVD will only give you a good workout. October 19, 2007

Tough, Fun Intermediate to Advanced Work out

I tried this workout for the first time about two months ago. I do cardio, yoga, and weights fairly regularly, and was sore for two days after the first try! I've done Keli's previous step and kick boxing work outs, and was looking to increase the intenisty, in particular on the weight/strength side. This workout is perfect. The step segments are simple but intense, and very effective -- I found nothing dancey-foo foo here, except for a mambo cha-cha at the end, which is a fairly standard move. My favorite thing about Keli as an instructor is that she doesn't dumb down the workouts: she assumes you are capable, and challenges you from the get-go with advanced moves such as push-ups topped off by side plank, but as always provides modifications for beginners. I end this workout feeling great mentally and physically, knowing I have accomplished a great workout. After about a month, I noticed a huge difference in my ability to sustain tough yoga poses, particularly shoulder stand and full back bend, and I've been able to increase the weight during the freeweight segments of this workout. Highly recommended. July 6, 2007

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